Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs review: a shot in Total War: Warhammer 3’s arm

All of its economic management, army maneuvers, real-time tactics, and economy management. Total War: Warhammer 3It has been as much a game of spectacle and strategy as it has ever been. Assassinate camouflaged wooden elves with rat ninjas. Swarm vampire pirates from the sea with horse-sized fowls. Four-headed sea monsters are headbutted by giant dinosaurs. My favorite races to play have been those that focus on the strategic aspect of the game. The Chaos Dwarfs are the new addition to the Trilogy. They’re the first race in over two years. Their strategy-oriented and cunning nature is unmatched. And they’re an absolute blast.

I’ve spent the last two weeks playing Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs, the DLC that will be released tomorrow alongside update 3.0. These Chaos Dwarfs, which some in the Total War community call the Chorfs, are one of my favorite options. Warhammer 3’s real-time battlefields — they’re also a monstrous force in the game’s turn-based campaign layer. They are a good foil to any enemy they encounter due to their obsession with industry, volcano artillery and Hobgoblin cannon fodder. In fact, they’ve led to some of my most engrossing mid- to late-game campaign moments out of the trilogy’s 24-race roster.

First time I tried Chorfs In The Realms of Chaos campaign. Warhammer 3’s more guided, story driven mode that features a smaller portion of Warhammer Fantasy’s world map. The three Chorf groups, each with their own buffs and capabilities, need to build giant drills in order to tap into Blood of Hashut. This substance is lava-like and can transform metal into molten goo at the slightest touch. The race must fight other races with unique game-winning goals. (This is Total War. It’s not absolute peace.

Image: Creative Assembly/Sega via Polygon

Zhatan, the Chorf Legendary King, was my choice for my first attempt. His faction allowed me to add a trade convoy as well as cheaper war machines. It was evident by turn 20 just how flexible the Chorfs were on the battlefield. The Chorfs have sufficient range and artillery options to allow them to push back against defenders. My favorite of their various weapons is the magma-cannon. It does exactly as you would expect. Their only way to win the battle is to close the gap by bringing in their own units of short range.

It was soon apparent that Chorf gunpowder troops are true double dangers, with a devastating one-two punch consisting of close-quarters blunderbusses and long-distance rifles. And their K’daai units — basically daemonic entities trapped inside hulking frames of metal armor — can go toe-to-toe with some of the game’s most intimidating melee monsters. Their cheap Hobgoblin units make for a formidable frontline to keep enemies away while elite units can pick them off. On the battlefield, there’s not much the Chorfs can’t do.

Here’s the catch: It can be tricky to reach the Chorf roster’s full potential. According to Warhammer Fantasy, Chaos Dwarfs is a diminutive race which relies heavily on Hobgoblins for food and labor in order to sustain their militaristic or industrial endeavors. Creative Assembly has set a limit on the amount of Chaos Dwarfs and war machines that can be deployed simultaneously to reflect this fact. You will need to make sure you balance many settlements and currencies. In the beginning, most of your armies will consist only expendable Hobgoblins. This results in a footrace, which requires that you plan your early turns carefully to be able to steamroll large swathes of the map.

Image: Creative Assembly/Sega via Polygon

These thoughts kept me going well into my 50th birthday. That’s when the Chorf economics really started to work in my favor. As the de facto armorers of Warhammer Fantasy’s evil factions, the Chorfs can send weapons convoys to various corners of the map. Should they return from their destination safely, you’ll receive building materials, laborers, or gold in return.

Just like Grand Cathay (a Chinese myth-inspired faction) introduced the convoy system, Chorf will gradually accumulate different units as they travel. My merry band, Chaos Dwarfs Chaos Hobgoblins, mythical marine monsters, war Mammoths and Viking-esque Berserkers made it a pleasure to face random ambushers around turn 60. I stand by what I said about the Chorfs being more about strategy than spectacle — but damn if this wasn’t some of the most mesmerizing spectacle I’ve seen in this game so far.

They also have diplomatic concerns. Using political influence, each of the three Chorf factions can occupy seats in the Tower of Zharr — a veritable senate, or maybe parliament, albeit with more axes and flaming beards. Each seat comes with its own stat buff and army ability. The seats with the highest armaments output were the ones I chose to gravitate towards, in order to increase the population limit on my most powerful units. I also bought the military seats which enabled me to use off-map bombardments during real-time combat.

Image: Creative Assembly/Sega

Once again, though, there’s a catch. The Tower of Zharr has four levels, with each offering more powerful benefits. The only way to unlock each new level is to fill every seat in two of the three “districts” on the previous level. It happens often more quickly when all three Chorf factions are filling seats, and so, it helps to maintain friendly — or, at least, polite — diplomatic relations with the other two factions. But, it is possible to exert more political influence. Usurp Seats from other factions

It’s a process I can only describe as toxic dependency. This reminds me of Roman Roy’s fragile alliance with Siobhan and Kendall. SuccessionSeason 4. As a unified unit, they have much more capital at their disposal, and if they stick together in the long run (I’m putting aside a host of insecurities, unresolved traumas, and sadistic fixations, to be clear) they might amount to a powerful force in the media stratosphere. The ultimate goal, however, is unfettered power. Similar to their clandestine Machiavellian power grabs they make, I also used the two Chorf Lords as a means of unlocking the Tower of Zharr. As soon as it opened, I cut all ties, moved my armies across my allies’ doorsteps, and wiped them off of the map.

I’ve tried each of the three Chorf factions, in both the base game campaign and the Immortal EmpiresYou can play in game mode. And although they’ll likely get their fair share of nerfs and minor reworks in the coming months, I can confidently say that they’re one of the most consistently engrossing races in the vast world of Total War: Warhammer. They have a flexible army, a strong economy, and keep their campaigns exciting into triple-digit turn. As with any addition to this digital facsimile of the Warhammer Fantasy world, their presence will have ripple effects in the game’s future. And as usual, I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Total War: Warhammer 3’s On April 13, Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs DLC for Windows PC will be made available. Sega provided a download code for the game prior to its release. Vox Media also has affiliate relationships. They do not affect editorial content. However, Vox Media might earn commissions for products bought via affiliate links. Find out more. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.